2017-2018 Fall and Winter Safety Guidance

"Under the Oak Tree" Counseling between Service Members and first-line supervisors for long weekends, passes, and other identified periods of high risk must be conducted. "Under the Oak Tree" counseling directly involves first-line leaders in their Service Members' off duty risk assessments and risk mitigation. Although not mandatory for Civilians, this form of counseling is an effective method of taking care of all of our personnel.

Road Conditions: Personnel must know how to obtain timely weather and road-condition information. Plan for the environmental risks associated with the winter season. Fewer hours of daylight, low temperatures, periods of freezing precipitation, winter road hazards, and traffic congestion affect operations. Personnel must prepare for and remain vigilant the winter season and into the early spring. Call the Fort Knox Information Hotline at 502-624-KNOX (5669) for Garrison road conditions or access the Fort Knox homepage at: http://www.knox.army.mil/

Risk Management: Risk management training must address risk identification and mitigation of winter hazards on and off-duty. All personnel must have a solid understanding of risk management (RM) and be able to effectively apply the principles to address risk identification and the mitigation of winter season hazards. Army Techniques Publication (ATP) 5-19 Risk Management is the primary Army source document for risk management. RM training will be completed and documented in the personnel training records. Develop a process for relating higher-risk activities such as hiking, camping, skiing, snow-boarding, and sledding to prevention of personal injuries. The ATP 5-19 Risk Management regulation can be found at:
http://armypubs.army.mil/Search/ePubsSearch/ePubsSearchForm.aspx?x=ATP

Wellness Issues:

New personnel assigned to Fort Knox and new POV operators must be made aware of the hazards associated with driving in the local area. POV owners, including motorcycles, will not permit unauthorized or unlicensed personnel to operate a vehicle for which they are responsible.

Soldiers complete the POV Risk Assessment (TRIPS) before long holiday weekends and before going on pass, leave, or TDY. Access TRIPS: https://trips.safety.army.mil/

Ensure a driver's training/orientation program is conducted for all Government Vehicle operators. Include a review of Fort Knox and Kentucky-unique driving hazards, cellular phone use, seatbelt requirements, and the associated penalties.

Emphasis must be placed on inspection of the exhaust system of GOVs during scheduled maintenance to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning in the winter months.

Provide travel safety information to personnel taking holiday trips away from the United States and traveling to foreign countries. Personnel are required to receive a force protection briefing when traveling to foreign countries. The U.S. Department of State maintains current travel advisories for those traveling to foreign countries at: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings.html

Ensure all current and newly arrived personnel are briefed on this 2017-2018 Fall and Winter Safety Campaign and have completed the required training.

Chaplains provide information and counseling services for individual Soldiers as needed on suicide prevention and wellness issues especially for those Families that have deployed members or that are pending deployment.

Newly arrived personnel must receive proper newcomers training for the local area; especially over extended weekends and holidays.

Family Advocacy Programs provide information on domestic violence/sexual assault. The Family Advocacy Program provides educational information, resources, and services to help victims of violent crime and abusive relationships.

Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program (ASAP) Coordinators provide information on alcohol and substance abuse throughout the winter season with focused emphasis during extended weekend periods. (ASAP) Coordinators coordinate with MWR to promote the Designated Drivers Program during the holiday season.

Holiday events that include serving food must have qualified/certified safe storage and food preparation personnel on site. Contact the local preventive medicine unit for additional information on this requirement.

In preparation for the winter season, Installation-level Severe Weather mitigation plans are reviewed and updated.

The destructive winter weather season usually begins in late October and continues through the end of April. The Fort Knox Severe Weather Plan outlines the risks associated with destructive weather conditions.

Accident data, property damage reports, hospital and medical clinic admission/disposition reports, and incident reports specific to an organization must be reviewed to indentify accident trends that can be vital in countermeasure development.